Last week, I asked you readers for your fun facts. You could tell me about your unique hobbies, interesting talents, unusual activities, or funny stories. Here’s what you sent me.
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While at one of the many jobs I had in college, I was in a tall office building riding an elevator. As the door was about to close on the main floor, I heard a man shout, "Is there room for one more in there?" Without looking up, I responded with a cheerful "Hop in!" As he was hopping in, I looked up to see that the man only had one leg. I'm sure my face was bright red, but we both laughed.
Adonis, Mounds View, Minnesota
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I am a semi-professional ear piercer, having pierced around 30 pairs of ears.
Also, when I plug my nose, I can blow bubbles out of my eyes.
Scott, Fridley, Minnesota
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I learned to drive using a manual shift stick so I am proficient in that. I can also drive a "3 on a tree". I can change my own oil if I have to. I am also endorsed on my driver's license to operate a motorcycle... had that endorsement since 1993. I haven't been on a bike in a long time but keep the endorsement in honor of my late brother. I can also drive a skid loader which, I must admit, is the funnest of all motorized vehicles I have operated. I'm also a retired horse trainer... gotta throw the animal factor in there
Shantell, Maple Grove, Minnesota
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I'm sharing 2. One, I am a Newcomer English Language Learner Teacher in North Kansas City, MO. Newcomer is the term for someone who has recently arrived in the U.S. One of the things I love to do is make home visits. I've had a lot of adventures over the years, like showing up in apartment buildings where I don't have the exact apartment address, just the building number, and walking through the dim hallways (I ALWAYS hear the beeping of expired batteries in Smoke Detectors) listening for foreign language sounds coming from doors or the smells of foreign cooking. I usually find my students by locating their voices inside. It helps me to find out the unspoken needs of folks, like underwear in size 5, weatherstripping to keep out the wind from around the doors, or help registering a new TV for Roku. This last week I came to an Afghan home and was greeted by six children and their mom. Everyone rushed forward to shake my hand, including the two- and three-year-old tikes. I was served hot milk tea, dried fruit and nuts, and rice with generous helpings of sour yogurt on it and lovely bread to tear and dip. As the youngsters summersaulted for me on the couch cushions and the mom barked orders for her boys to get out their prayer rugs and pray, I sat silently and prayed too. The nine year old asked me why didn't I pray. I shared that I do, all the time. I just don't use a prayer rug. I told him I talked to God all the time and thanked him for the day. That didn't make much sense to him, since prayer for him meant saying certain things in a certain way, at five specific times a day on a prayer rug, facing Mecca. After teatime, I read a book with 7th grader Wasiullah and recorded it, sounding out the words carefully and left the book with him, so he could practice reading on his Spring Break. Caps for Sale and the Mindful Monkeys by Esphyr Slovbodkina will be read over and over to the little ones in his house all Break.
2: Our family enjoys Grace Theater Cafe now and then. That is where we invite friends over for an evening. All ages love it. We choose a movie, and then serve snacks along the theme. When people arrive, they receive an envelope of pretend money. They pay an entry fee from that envelope and get their hand stamped. They may help prepare the snacks and make the concessions sign. Roles are negotiated for concession sales. The movie begins. At intermission, concession sales begin in earnest. The GRACE part is when you run out of money, you go back to the source and get more. This is good practice for discerning a price, paying, making change, and getting customer service experience. Tonight's movie is "Treasures of the Snow" based on the book by Patricia M. St. John. We'll make a Swiss bread braid to be consumed during the movie. We also made a favorite: Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars and picked up treats that our guests requested: Mike and Ike's, Whoppers, and Sour Gummy Worms.
We are cleaning house right now for our guests. The participants are ages 58 and 54, 19, 16, 13, 11, and 9. Everyone will enjoy!
Jill, Kansas City, Missouri
Auntie Rachel gets her ears pierced!
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*Has My Blonde Life inspired or entertained you? If you wish to toss a tip into my writerly coffers, here's how you can do it: @Tamara-Schierkolk (Venmo) or $TamaraSchierkolk (Cash App)
*Names in this blog have been changed to protect my family, neighbors, and friends in the neighborhood, and in a nod of appreciation to the beloved Swedish author Maj Lindman, I’ve renamed my three blondies Flicka, Ricka, and Dicka.